Notes from the Station

Species: California Scrub-jay
Most recent capture date: 6/10/2022
Age: less than four months old

Species: White-breasted Nuthatch
Most recent capture date: 6/8/2022
Age: less than four months old
Sex: (probably) male

Notes: CCFS banded its first White-breasted Nuthatch in 1993, and didn’t band its second until 2014. Their captures have increased dramatically in the last few years; so far we have caught three individuals in just this first half of 2022.

Species: Song Sparrow
Most recent capture date: 6/8/2022
Earliest capture date: 6/16/2018
Age: four years old
Sex: female

Notes: This sparrow was banded as a juvenile in June 2018, caught again in May 2020, and then caught in June this year. She’s on a steady every-two-years schedule: see you again in May/June 2024!

Species: House Finch
Most recent capture date: 6/8/2022
Age: less than four months old

Notes: You can tell this bird is young by their yellow gape (at the corner of the mouth) and tufts of long feathers on the head.

Species: Western Bluebird
Most recent capture date: 6/5/2022
Age: less than three months old
Sex: male

Notes: A family of Western Bluebirds likes to perch on our nets while foraging. They almost never get caught, but we got lucky this time! Young bluebirds have a distinctive plumage, with a speckled body and blue flight feathers. (If this reminds you of the speckles on juvenile American Robins, you have the right idea: both species are thrushes.) The amount of blue on the juvenile indicates sex: males are more blue.

Species: Cliff Swallow
Most recent capture date: 6/5/2022
Age: at least one year old

Notes: Nothing scientific to put here, really – just, aren’t they handsome!

Species: California Thrasher
Most recent capture date: 5/30/2022
Age: less than three months old

Species: Purple Finch
Most recent capture date: 5/30/2022
Age: less than three months old

Notes: The stained bill suggests that this young bird has figured out how to eat berries just fine.

Species: Barn Swallow
Most recent capture date: 5/28/2022
Age: less than three months old

Notes: Swallows usually fly too high for us to capture them. This young bird may have been caught out of youthful ignorance. When we released him, another Barn Swallow swooped close to him and he swerved to follow it.

Species: Common Yellowthroat
Most recent capture date: 5/28/2022
Age: less than three months old